


Christmas on Tracy Island

by rachfielden_xo



Series: Christmas on Tracy Island [1]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29755641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachfielden_xo/pseuds/rachfielden_xo
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: Christmas on Tracy Island [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2186910
Kudos: 1





	1. Never Trust the Blonde Bros

If Scott Tracy could tell you one thing NOT to do during the Christmas season, it would be not to put Alan and Gordon in charge of Christmas shopping.

Every year, the blonde bros would spend all the money on useless stuff like gaming consoles, new Hawaiian shirts (mainly more for Gordon’s benefit), and buy new decorations that the family didn’t need.

Looking at the attic now, Scott knew that if they had more decorations stuffed up there, the ceiling would probably collapse! And when he tried to get the decos down for Christmas, he ended up having a sneezing fit because the attic was so dusty.

“You alright up there bro?” Virgil called up when he heard loud clunking.

“Of course!” Scott replied in a fake high-pitched voice. “Never better.”

Virgil wasn’t satisfied with this answer. He then heard the sound of water spraying everywhere. “Damn it!” Came Scott’s annoyed voice.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?”

“OK, fine. Yes, please, Virg. Come help me. I’ve busted one of the water pipes leading from the main family bathroom.”

“Alright, alright. Hang tight. I’ll get my tool kit.”

—

As the second oldest went to the hanger to get his equipment, Alan was passing through the lounge to get to Scott’s need in the attic. His attention was drawn to the array of pictures on the wall. Virgil’s, after Scott’s, was there, standing proud. Alan stared at it for a while. The memories from four months before came back.

Oh! Those horrid memories! Virgil’s 20th birthday was just awful. Alan remembered how his dad has chosen the new leader of International Rescue to be Scott. The second brother had gotten so angry and wanted ultimate revenge. Virgil had stolen the Hood’s sceptre and transformed into a powerful villain known as Midnight Tracy or the Leader of Mean. Virgil had realized that when he wanted something so badly, he got almost hungry for it; he didn’t stop until he got what he wanted. He was eventually defeated by Scott, who used a replica of the leader badge. Scott had talked sense into his brother as they sat on the balcony together later on in the evening. In other words, he’d become very power-hungry.

As Alan looked at the picture, he saw something haunting. He saw Virgil’s face go from a nice smile to a wicked smirk. He saw the eye colour go from brown to green again and the streak of green appear in his hair. His blue rescue outfit went super dark blue again and his belt went black. Midnight’s evil laugh seemed to ripple through the air. “Ah!” Alan gasped and jumped back. “No!” After he’d calmed down, he muttered, “I must’ve been hallucinating. His demon self has gone. He’s not real anymore.”

“Are you OK?” Jeff was standing right behind his son.

“Oh? Yeah, I’m fine,”

“You sure? You looked a little freaked out.”

“I promise I’m OK!”

“F.A.B, if you say so.”

Alan walked away from the lounge but had a nasty feeling that not all evil was defeated. He knew everyone knew, that it would come back one day.

—

“Right, thanks for helping me with the water leak, Virg.” Scott had mended the broken pipe.

“All in a day's work, Bro.”

When they got down, Alan was there.

“Ah, perfect timing Sprout,” Scott smiled. “I was wanting to ask what you and Gordon had got decorations-wise.”

The baby jumped at this. “Oh yeah! We’ve got something good this year. Follow me.”

The two eldest gave each other a look but agreed to follow baby bro. Once they got to the lounge, Alan, and Gordon were already there and they had some large boxes with them.

“OK, here’s the big reveal of Christmas shopping this year!” Gordon announced dramatically.

Virgil couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“And… TA DA!” Alan whipped the boxes open to reveal something that both Scott, Virgil, and even Jeff (who’d joined them) were totally expecting. More videogame consoles, yet more Christmas decorations, and stupid-looking jumpers and hats to wear on the day itself.

Scott slapped his forehead with his hand.

This was going to be a looooong Christmas.


	2. Decorating Disaster

“GOR-DON!!!” Virgil’s angry voice bellowed through the villa.

Scott was in the lounge putting the tinsel up and took in the hilarious sight of Gordon being chased down.

That’s when Gordon did something sneaky. Suddenly, with Virgil right behind him, he skidded to a stop. Virgil gasped and crashed into his little brother. The two ended up in a pile on the floor. They glared at each other. That’s when…

“Get off me, Gordon!!” Virgil screamed.

“NO! You get off me,” Gordon spat back, “you’re practically crushing me!”

It became a classic brothers’ rough and tumble. Scott stopped putting decos up and admired the scene. Jeff came in with Alan and saw both Virgil and Gordon on top of each other and fighting.

Virgil was trying to attack Gordon and take his belt. Gordon wasn’t paying attention. He’d seen the audience they’d collected. Gordon frantically tapped Virg on the shoulder, “Bro, bro,”

Virgil stopped. “What?”

“We have an audience.”

Virgil looked up. His eyes went big. Uh oh.

Scott burst out laughing, “Ha! I could’ve watched that all day!”

Even Alan was struggling to hide his giggles.

Jeff tutted, sighed, and shook his head. But he too was smiling. “Please you two. Virgil, you’re 20 now. Gordon, you’re 18. Try and be a bit more mature. And get up! We have the whole lounge to decorate.”

For the next hour, the Tracys worked together to decorate the lounge. It was going well until Gordon, with Alan’s help, decided to pull a prank on Scott. It was a very clever setup. When Scott tripped over a wire coming into the lounge, it would send a signal to an electricity box. Then as Scott fell forwards onto the net after the wire, the electricity would shock him. It was genius!

Alan winked at Gordon. Gordon nodded at Alan. The trap was set up. And it went perfectly to plan. Scott was focusing more on the heavy box of Christmas decos he was carrying. He tripped. He fell forward. The electricity shocked him. “AHHH!!” He screamed.

“Hahaha!” Alan laughed.

Gordon was cringing so hard but laughing at the same time, “You should’ve seen your face!”

“Boys, it’s not funny.” Huffed Scott getting up from the floor.

No one was watching what was happening to the electricity box. The wires that led from it were actually leading to the kitchen oven. Sparks flew down the wires and short-circuited in the oven. WOOSH! Flames exploded out and began chomping their way through the kitchen.

“Wait… Do you smell that?” Scott asked. The Blonde Bros sniffed the air.

“It smells like… smoke!” Gasped Alan.

“THE KITCHEN!” Everyone cried. Within seconds, they were all faced with the fire’s furious flames. Virgil was already there with a fire extinguisher. Scott grabbed one and began to help.

“DAD!” Virgil yelled. “Code three! Kitchen! Now!”

“Code three?!” Jeff skidded into the room, a piece of tinsel around his neck. “Oh, God!”

“It’s your fault this has happened,” Gordon started to complain to Alan.

“Erm, excuse me! It was your idea to do the prank so technically it’s your fault,”

“It is not!”

“Liar, liar, pants on fire!”

“Errr, speaking of pants on fire.” Gordon was pointing to Virgil’s jeans.

Virgil looked down and shrieked, “AH!” Sure enough, his jeans were on fire. Virgil dropped his extinguisher and hurtled down the patio. He jumped in the pool, fully clothed, and the fire was put out. He breathed, “Ahhhhh. That’s much better.”

“Oh my. Son, Are you OK?” Jeff came running.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you.” Said Virgil after his dad helped him out of the water. He was dripping wet with pool water and chlorine. As he went past the littlies to change into fresh clothes, he gave both of them the death stare.

Scott had finally finished putting out the fire. The oven was scorched black with soot and half the kitchen counters had nearly gone. There was still a smell of smoke in the air but it wasn’t strong as before.

Alan cringed, “Ooh. Yeah, Dad, I think you’ll need to buy some new kitchen counters.”

“Right,” Jeff announced, the tinsel still around his neck, “shall we get back to decorating? And, yes Alan, I will buy new kitchen stuff.”

Jeff turned to go up the kitchen stairs before adding, “Eventually.”


	3. Alan’s Nightmare

It had been a long, long day. A long day of decorating, rescues, and restless work.

Alan was exhausted. Being a 17-year-old teenager, he’s done a pretty good job with staying awake most of the day. He changed into his pyjamas, and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he stared at himself in the mirror, his eyes were drawn to the streak of black in his hair. Alan swallowed and pushed the thoughts of that one day into the back of his mind. The last thing he wanted was bad thoughts to keep him awake at night. But the streak of black. It has stayed there ever since The Day. Nothing had happened to him. Nothing. For four months, nothing. He’d been in perfect condition. Though some people (mainly little kids) had questioned it when they were being rescued.

Teeth now brushed and face washed, it was finally time to get some well-deserved sleep. The Sprout took his duvet off the bed and cuddled up inside it on the floor. For him, the floor was more comfortable than the bed.

He was one of these people who fell asleep in seconds. Literally. It didn’t matter what position he was in (even if he was upside down), he still fell asleep fast. He closed his eyes and his brain switched off.

—

It was late at night. It was time for his father, Jeff Tracy, to choose the new Leader of International Rescue. There were two options. Scott and Virgil. The two oldest. John was there. Gordon was there. And he (Alan) was there. They were all dressed in their rescue clothes, looking as smart as ever.

Alan saw the iR badge in Jeff’s hand. It was stunning. Shining silver and glittering in blue sparkles. It was a dream. An absolute dream. Alan loved it.

That’s when the clock struck midnight, Virgil was titled the new leader and Alan’s dream became a nightmare!

Suddenly Virgil turned into this huge monster with large black wings, glowing eyes, and pointed teeth. He started growling and chasing Alan around the lounge. Alan searched desperately for his family but they’d just… disappeared. He was alone.

Virgil loomed over Alan menacingly. His fingers were pointed and covered in human blood. Alan yelped and began running. He didn’t know where to. He just ran. But for some reason, he felt as if he was going super slow. Alan felt something tickle his back. Vines and their tangly sprouts! Suddenly, Alan tripped. He fell onto the ground. Vines consumed his body, pinning his legs and arms to the ground.

Lying on his back, Virgil saw his chance. He smiled and his teeth were also covered in blood. Alan screamed. The sight was horrific! He could feel his breath being sucked out of him as Virgil stood above him. Alan took one final cry out before…

—

He woke up! He was awake.

Awake?

But he’d just been awake.

Was it a bad dream? A nightmare?

“Ahhh,” he breathed in relief. “It was just a nightmare. It wasn’t real.”

Alan’s gaze flicked to his alarm clock. He needed to see what the time was. He froze. The room was so quiet. The only thing he could hear was the beating of his own heart in his ears.

The clock read exactly 12:00 AM.

The young Tracy gulped. A lot of bad things happened at this time four months before. His bedroom was so dark. Oh so, so dark. And so scary.

Something moved. Under the duvet. It felt like something brushed his feet. Alan shot his stare back to the covers. “Huh?” He lifted the sheet high enough so he could see his feet. He saw something that wasn’t meant to be there. Vines.

Alan let out an ear-shattering scream.

It woke Scott. It woke Virgil. It woke Gordon. It woke Jeff. They all came running to his bedroom.

They were too late.

There he lay. Alan. Motionless on the floor. Face pale. Another streak of black in his hair.

Jeff breathed in heavily. No. It wasn’t possible. They’d already seen the time. Everyone looked to stare at Virgil. “It wasn’t me, I swear!” He protested. “I was in bed!”

“Alan?” Jeff was knelt down beside his youngest son. “Please wake up.” Alan only shuffled around slightly. Other than that, there wasn’t a lot of major movement. Jeff brushed what looked like green glitter off the pale boy’s face. Green glitter?

“Virgil?” Jeff asked sternly.

“I promise it’s not me!” Virgil flew his hands up to show innocence.

“Get him to the Med Bay now,” ordered Jeff. “He needs to be looked at. Scott and I will stay with him. The rest of you, go back to sleep.”

Gordon and Virgil looked at each other. Jeff and Scott took off with Alan.

Gordon went straight back to his room.

Virgil stayed put in the dark hallway, watching Scott and his father make off with Little One. He breathed in and out deeply, his breaths quivering. Then he turned and ran back to his room. The moment he got in, he slammed his door shut and dashed into the bathroom. He faced himself in the mirror, bent over the sink… and let his hidden tears spill out of his eyes.


	4. Midnight Memories/Gordon’s Comfort

Tears, tears, and more tears. They just kept on coming.

Virgil couldn’t help himself. He looked up and stared at his black hair. That evil curse. His revenge on everyone. He kept on staring at himself in the mirror. His mind drifted to everything from that night.

His villain form’s evil laugh came back to his head. It haunted Virgil’s thoughts. He remembered very clearly his emotions at the time. How he’d been boiling with jealousy and the fact that he wasn’t leader had been eating away inside him.

He realized how easy he’d wanted revenge. Well, it was easy especially when the environment and atmosphere were feeding his anger.

More tears.

“Thanks to my magic, I’ve hurt Alan. How can I be more vicious? It’s all my fault.”

“What’s all your fault?”

Virgil jumped at the sudden change in voice.

It was Gordon. He was standing in the doorway of the en suite and looking at Virgil, his arms crossed.

“Oh, Gordo, hi,”

“Hey. Heard you crying and had to see what was up. What’s the deal?”

Virgil wiped his eyes before replying, “Everything,”

“Everything?”

“Yes!”

“Details please.”

“I’ve hurt Alan, he had a bad dream which woke us all up at midnight and I have no idea how to control it!”

“Control what?”

“My powers!”

“What powers?

“These powers.” Virgil demonstrated by stamping on the bathroom floor. It turned to stone immediately. Then he made poison ivy crawl up the walls by touching them.

“Woahhhh…” Gordon was stunned. “That’s amazing.”

“No, it’s not. So far I’ve only used my magic to hurt people. To wreck things. For evil-doing.”

“It is amazing, Virg. Controlling earth and nature? You could create little gardens on the patio. Make the place really pretty.”

“Oh yeah, I never thought of that,”

“See? There are good ways you can use your magic,”

“But it doesn’t last all day.”

Gordon gave Virgil a confused look.

“It only lasts for an hour. Twelve ‘til one in the morning. The midnight hour.”

“That sucks.”

“I know.”

“All I’m gonna say is that you can control your magic. It might just take time. If you need help with anything, I’m here and you have your family.” Those last reassuring words left Gordon’s mouth.

Virgil smiled warmly, “Thanks Gordo.” and gave his little brother a big hug.

“You’re welcome, bro. Can I please go back to bed now?”

“Sure.”

Gordon left the room and Virgil clambered into bed. He was happy to share his thoughts with someone. With a warm feeling inside, and the midnight memories partially forgotten, he fell into a deep sleep.


	5. On His Mind

As the morning sunshine through the curtains in Scott’s bedroom, he groaned, rubbed his eyes, before yanking the duvet over his head. “Uhhhh…” he muttered, “too early.”

Usually, Scott would get up at around six to have a morning run, shower then get the others up and ready for the day. But since his father had returned, he’d slipped out of that habit. At first, it’d been annoying not sticking to a routine but he adjusted quickly.

The sunlight poured in even more forcing Scott’s brain to officially wake up. “Ugh, fine!” He said. He tried to stand up out of bed but didn’t have the energy. Instead, he rolled out of bed and onto the floor. “Gah!” Spluttered Scott. What a way to wake up he thought. The oldest stood up and looked at the clock on his wall. It read 8:30 AM. A decent amount of sleep. Especially from what happened last night.

Poor Alan. The youngest had been on Scott’s mind since the day he was born. And last night made Scott worry about him even more. I need to speak to Virgil, he muttered to himself, to see if it really was just magic or him being evil again. After Scott had got dressed for the day, he thought it would be a good idea to speak to Dad in his office. He knocked on the door and a voice replied, “Come in!”

“Hey, Dad. It’s me,”

“Oh, hi, son. Anything the matter?”

“Well yes. I’m worried about Alan. And what happened last night. He clearly got the fright of his life!”

“I’m worried too. All we can do is give him the right medication and hope it’s just magic playing up.”

“I don’t know. It feels like there’s more to it than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, nature growing in your bedroom after a nightmare doesn’t happen every night does it?”

“Right?”

“So it must’ve happened for a reason. I bet my spare jet pack that it’s the Hood.”

“Scott, the Hood’s in a GDF prison. And from my knowledge, they’re really tough to break out of.”

“I know that,” Scott sighed, “anyway, I guess your right. Let’s hope it’s just magic.”

“Look,” Jeff leaned on his desk so he was closer to Scott. “Son, we all worry about our family sometimes. It’s natural. I get it about why you're scared for Alan. He the youngest, he’s only little, and he might be too weak to fight the dark magic in his heart. But please. We can’t spend our wholes lives in fear of others. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Dad.” Scott bent his head low before saying quietly, “I miss Mum.”

“I miss her too. We all do. It’s hard to think she’s gone.”

Scott’s head was bent lower. He felt salty tears prickle his eyes. Even though Jeff couldn’t see his face, he still knew Scott was crying. “Do you want a tissue?”

A sniffle.

“Yes, Dad.” He took the tissue. “Thanks.” And blew a loud sneeze into it. He wiped his eyes.

“Feeling better?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, shall we have breakfast with the others then get to decorating?”

“Yes, Dad.”

The pair left Jeff’s office and trooped into the kitchen. Scott felt better now he’d talked about his feelings to someone.

He, along with everyone else, would just have to see what the day brought them.


	6. Final Preps (And Maybe a Burnt Cake)

“—Oi! Get yourself over here now!” Scott shouted as Gordon began to make off with the rest of the tinsel.

“Haha try and catch me first.” Gordon began doing a silly elf dance and did the L for “loser” sign with his fingers. He was acting like a real little kid.

“Oh, your on.” Virgil narrowed his eyes and grinned wickedly.

Brother Two charged towards Gordon. He smirked and made off in the opposite direction. Directly down the stairs, through the kitchen, and onto the patio.

Scott slapped his forehead with his hand. “Uh, brothers.” He tutted, before following the pair.

Virgil had cornered Gordon right by the pool edge. They had an intense small staring contest before Virgil picked Gordon up, slung him over his shoulder, and threw him into the pool! Gordon shrieked as the water engulfed him and went into his ears and up his nose unexpectedly. Brother Four sunk quickly as he was still fully clothed.

Virgil couldn’t help a smirk.

Scott came up behind him and said, “Haha. That’s the funniest thing I’ve seen all day!”

Gordon came to the surface and spat out the water from his mouth. “Bro!! What was that for?!”

“For misbehaving, that’s what!” Scott shot back. He tried to hide his giggles.

The second youngest climbed out, dripping wet, and hair all over the place. The pool water had washed out his hair gel which meant it now looked tangly and messy. “You are so gonna pay for that.” He hissed as he marched past Scott and Virgil.

But before he could go, Virgil snatched the tinsel off him, “We’ll take those. Thank you.”

—

The family had just about finished putting up the decos in the lounge and kitchen when John checked in through the hologram. “Hey, guys. Good news!”

“What’s the news?” Asked Scott.

“I’m coming down from space for Christmas!”

“Finally, you haven’t been down for the last three years!” Gordon complained.

“And why was that?” Virgil joined in. “Because we were nonstop rushing around with rescues.”

“Oh yeah. I’m so stupid.” Gordon’s cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. The bro had gotten into some fresh clean clothes and redone his hair.

That’s when Jeff entered the lounge. He acknowledged his boys’ hard work. “Well done lads. The place looks really ready for Christmas now. A fine job!”

“How’s Alan?” There was a slight tremor in Scott’s voice.

“Oh, he’s fine. I gave him another dose of his medicine which sent him off to sleep. Try not to be too loud.”

“We’ll be careful, Dad.”

“Thank you. Now I’m very sorry but I have a meeting with the top-class GDF members online. Carry on with any final decorations, will you?

“Sure! Good luck!” Virgil called as their dad left the room in a hurry. “Right what shall we do now?”

“Never mind “what shall we do”. More like “what do you smell”?” Gordon sniffed the air.

Scott did too. “It smells like something’s burning…”

“Wait, Virgil, you did remember to put a timer for the cake to cook right?”

“EeerrrEerrr…” he winced.

“THE CAKE!” The three brothers shrieked and ran downstairs. They were hit by the stinky smell of oven smoke and — quite literally — there was black smoke billowing out of it.

“Oh no, it’s definitely burnt now!” Scott whipped on his oven gloves and flung the door open. Smoke poured out into the air making him cough. Thinking fast, he grabbed the cake tin and yanked it out onto the countertop. Virgil quickly put out the small fire with an extinguisher.

“Well done, Virg!” Gordon cried sarcastically. “What are we gonna do for cake now?”

“Oi! It’s not my fault I forgot to put a timer on. My current favourite piano piece was playing in my head and it made me forget.”

Gordon snorted, “Sure it did.” He rolled his eyes.

“It did!”

“OK, boys. Relax, relax,” Scott broke them up before things got heated. “This is a busy time of year for all of us. We’ll think of something.”

“Like what? Christmas is only two days away!” To be honest, Gordon made a good point.

“I’ll, um, make one myself. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.” Scott cringed at his own thought.

Gordon and Virgil looked at each other with an unsure look. This was going to be interesting.


	7. Merry Christmas!

A pillow to the face was what woke Scott in the morning. It was followed by the endless cries of “Wake up Scott!” and “Today’s the day!”.

“Alan!” Scott barked. “What are you doing out of bed?!”

“It’s Christmas Day! Dad said I could be out of medical care just for today.”

“Well he better have made the right decision,” Scott said and sat up. Alan rolled onto the floor like a sack of potatoes.

“Get up.” Scott rolled his eyes but smiled. Today was a very special day for everyone. John would be coming down from space as well.

“Hurry up, hurry up.” Alan tried to drag Scott out of the room, completely forgetting he hadn’t even dressed for the day yet.

“Man, for a 17-year-old, this guy still acts like a 7-year-old at Christmas.” Chuckled Scott.

Forced by the baby of the family, he eventually got dressed into his “formal party clothes”. They consisted of a crisp white shirt, navy trousers, and polished dark oak coloured shoes with black laces. He didn’t bother with any sort of tie. He never did. Even though Jeff had told him many times before that it “added to the look”, he still thought it didn’t compliment him. As Scott left his bedroom, Alan was waiting outside, dressed in something similar but with a red bracelet around his wrist.

“Are you sure you want to join the party instead of resting?” The eldest pulled a concerned face.

“Yeah, duh. It’s Christmas Day! I’m never missing this for the world! And besides, I always like to have the first dose of turkey.”

—

The pair went down into the lounge and were greeted by the family. “John! You’re here!” Alan ran over to the red-haired sibling.

“Heya, Sprout. It’s good to see you again.” He smiled and embraced the youngest into a big hug.

“Presents, guys. Time for presents!” Gordon’s more than cheerful voice echoed through the room.

It wasn’t long before Alan was diving into his carefully wrapped parcels. Jeff had got them all colour coded so Alan’s was wrapped in sparkly red paper with a metallic blue bow. They’d got five gifts each from “Santa”; the boys knew it was their father but pretended they didn’t just for fun. Alan’s presents were: a new telescope, a red t-shirt with the words “rocket boy” on the front, a hundred dollars in cash, the newest videogame, and a set of red headphones.

“Dad… I-I love them all. Thank you!” Alan dropped his presents and hugged his father tight.

“You’re welcome, son. You deserve it.”

“Me next!” Gordon blurted out. He grabbed all the parcels with the yellow wrapping paper and ripped them all open at once. He got: a new set of Hawaiian shirts, the full David Attenborough Blue Planet documentary on DVD, a new set of headphones (because he’d snapped his old ones is half by accident), a full-size poster of all the marine creatures ever discovered and a box of family pranks. It was perfect. Again, like Alan, Gordon hugged Jeff.

—

“Alright you lot, I hope you’re all hungry cuz I have officially made a new Christmas cake after someone burnt the old one.” Scott glared at Virgil as he said it.

Virgil raised his hands up then let the power of gravity pull them down as he slapped his jeans, admitting defeat.

“I’m sorry, what! When did Virgil burn the Christmas cake?” Jeff asked.

“Yesterday,” Gordon tutted. “There was fire and black smoke coming out of the oven and everything. You weren’t here because you were in a meeting with the GDF.”

Jeff looked stunned that the fire alarm hadn’t gone off.

“Anyway,” Scott interrupted the awkward silence, “this is my cake.” He pulled the tin from the oven and showed it to everyone. Not gonna lie, it did look delicious. But did it taste that way? They’d have to find out later on at teatime.

“Yoo-hoo!” Came a voice from the lounge. It sounded like… Lady Penelope? With Parker and Sherbet? Why were they here?

“Ah, perfect timing. Welcome, m’lady.” Jeff hurried upstairs leaving his sons in the kitchen.

“Ooh, Gordo, your girlfriend’s here,” Alan teased.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Gordon shouted angrily. He always got annoyed whenever anyone mentioned it.

“Bro, in the episode Upside Down, she literally kissed you on the lips.”

“OK, that’s true. But it wasn’t full on the lips. Just the side!”

“Whatever. She still kissed you.” Alan’s eyes were gleaming with mischief.

“Guys, please, it’s Christmas Day. Let’s try to have an enjoyable day with no arguments.” John’s voice always calmed any situation down between the brothers.

—

“Lady Penelope,” Jeff greeted the English lady into the villa. “Welcome, welcome. How are you?”

“Hello, Jeff. I’m fine thank you. And thanks for inviting me around for Christmas.”

“Anytime. We thought we could use some extra people to bring up the party mood.”

“Where are the boys?”

“Downstairs in the kitchen. Apparently, Virgil burnt the old cake yesterday so Scott baked a new one.”

“Oh, dear.” Lady Penelope sighed. She was dressed in her smart red outfit with a golden bracelet and her favourite handbag. She had on silver heels and was wearing rich red lipstick. She looked beautiful.

“Lady Penelope!” Gordon’s voice broke their conversation.

“Hello, Gordon.” She smiled at the second-youngest Tracy.

“I wasn’t expecting you here,” he said. “Well, it’s Christmas and it’s a time of celebrating.” He gave Parker “The Look” which indicated that he needed to back off.

Gordon and Parker hadn’t had a very solid friendship ever since the episode SOS Part 1 where Gordon was called out to Penelope’s mansion in England just because Parker thought he’d lost Sherbet. Gordon had to steal Thunderbird 1 to get there and then was forced to go into a sewage system. Parker thought he’d seen Sherbet down there but it was a stunk. It sprayed Gordon all over. It was gross!

“Anyway, what shall we do together? Watch a movie? I can make Scott and Virgil bring popcorn!” Gordon was grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, uh, son I don’t think Christmas Day is the day for—”

“I love that idea!”

“Er, Penny? Really?”

“Of course! Spending most of my year doing my usual Lady like deeds and acting all sweet, I hardly ever get alone time to do my own stuff. Let’s watch a Christmas movie.”

“Well, erm, OK. Let’s watch Elf. It’s Gordon’s favourite.”

“Thanks, Dad! I’ll get the others. Do you wanna watch too Parker?”

“Yes, if it means I can leave Sherbet alone.”

“Give him to me,” said Penelope, “I can make sure he doesn’t have a sudden barking fit.”

—

After the movie had finished, it was time for just general social time. Chatting. Pranking (which Gordon indulged). Playing Christmas party favourites like Last Christmas by Wham!. That lasted a few hours then finally — finally — it was teatime. Which was good because Alan had been waiting for this all day and he was starving.

Jeff took the turkey out of the oven then cut it with sharp knives. When he’d placed a piece onto everyone’s plate, it was time to tuck in. Grandma began the conversation.

“So, Penelope. How does it feel to be spending Christmas here instead of at the manor?”

“Different,” she responded. “But you’ve made me feel very welcome.”

“Well, yes, I do try,” said Gordon in a smug tone.

“Gordon!” Virgil hissed into his ear. “Not at the table.”

“Haha, it’s fine. I know he’s trying to impress me.” Penelope was acting very unlike her usual lady self. Was it on purpose? Probably.

—

Once everyone had finished their meals, it was cake time. The moment Alan and Gordon had been waiting for!

Once Jeff had put a slice of Scott’s home-baked cake onto Alan’s plate, it picked it up, no spoons or any cutlery, and shoved the whole thing into his mouth.

“Alan!” Scott gasped. “Manners, please.”

“So? Today is special. I can eat how I want.”

Scott took this into consideration, “Alright. Fine. Go ahead.” And went back to having his cake.

BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP!! was the next sound people heard. “Oh no, not now. Seriously?” Penelope took her compact mirror communicator from her handbag.

“What’s the deal?” Jeff leaned in.

“I have to go now,” Penny sighed. “I’m so sorry. Thanks for having me.” She called before hurriedly rushing up the stairs, Parker right behind her.

The Tracys watched them go.

“OK?” John slowly turned his head around. “I like those two.”

—

Dessert finished with, Christmas Day was over. Everything had been eaten and Scott’s cake was actually not too bad. It could’ve been better but he tried his best.

Alan was — unsurprisingly — the first to go to bed. And everyone knew that once he had a big meal, he always liked to sleep it off. Jeff reminded him that he had to sleep in the Med Bay again. No exceptions after today.

Slowly, the entire Tracy family went to bed. The sky was clear and beautiful thanks to the stars. John stayed up to stargaze for a while. Virgil and Scott left at the same time, then Gordon helped Jeff with clearing up. After that, nothing moved in the villa.

Dead silence.

It had been a busy yet wonderful day.

But one thing is for sure: the Tracys wish you all who read this, a very Merry Christmas. Xx


	8. [Epilogue]

Alan was sitting on a log around a campfire. He had his marshmallows toasting and was ready with the crackers and chocolate. The forest around him was dark and spooky. But the strange thing was, he was totally alone. No brothers. No Dad. No Kayo or even Grandma. Just him.

“Here I am,” came the demon’s voice. The person who’d been haunting him for many months.

Alan turned around and looked behind him. Nothing.

“Over here.” The voice echoed in front of him now. From the fire?

Alan shot his gaze towards it. He stared into the flames.

Then suddenly, they changed from their orangy colour to a bright evil green. Green fire! “I’m always here!” Midnight Tracy sprung out of the fire and loomed menacingly over Alan.

—

“NO!” Alan was jolted awake from his sleeping position.

Midnight Tracy (Virgil’s villain form) had returned to Alan’s nightmares.

“Er, uhh, w-what happened?!” Scott sprung up from sleeping on a wooden chair next to him. Scott had wanted to do so to keep a watch over his little brother.

Alan sat up. Immediately he knew where he was. In Thunderbird 2’s medical pod in the special bed. “No, it was nothing. Sorry, Scott.” He yawned.

“Alan, we really need to discuss this dark magic in you. It’s making you have nightmares and have night disturbances.”

“Scott! Seriously, I’m fine!” The words were almost shouted.

The oldest jumped back, “OK. Just get back to sleep.”

They stopped the conversation and Scott shut his eyes. But the moment he did, Alan pulled his pyjama top sleeve up to reveal his right arm. There were inky black lines creeping down it. That must be the power spreading through me he thought in dismay. That’s when his head began to throb with a migraine. It hurt and Alan grimaced. “Just go to sleep,” he whispered, “just go to sleep…”

—

His “sleep” didn’t last long as about an hour later, he felt strangely uncomfortable. Both inside and out. He felt as if he was going to be sick but didn’t at the same time.

It was a really weird feeling.

That’s when Alan felt it.

A surge of dark energy through his veins. And the loud beating of his own heart. Almost as if it was pumping the evil magic further through him.

He began breathing in and out uncontrollably.

He shut his eyes.

And when he opened them, they were glowing a bright, devilish red.

— FIN —


End file.
